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Sinker Basics       Sinkers play a very important role in offshore fishing. They come in a variety of styles and sizes and are used differently by diffent anglers. Each person has their own theory as to which is the best sinker method.       I'm going to discuss two types of sinkers -- the slip sinker and the swivel sinker. While both are egg shaped, the way they are used are completely different.      The slip sinker is egg shaped with a hole through the middle. They range in size from 1/8-ounce to 16-ounces and the size of the hole varies depending on how they were cast.      The one thing I find that most people overlook is the even though the hole through the middle might appear smooth, it reallly isn't. What this means is that as the sinker slides up and down, it is slowly chaffing your line. The heavier the sinker the faster its going to wear through. Keep an eye on your knots and line for extensive sinker wear the might cause you break off that big one.      Slip sinkers are a great choice for snapper that tend to be a bit spooky and will quickly drop on a bait if they feel the weight. The best way to rig a slip sinker is to thread the mail line through the sinker and then tie on a swiver (a #5 swivel will get the jobe done 90% of the time). Next, attach a three to four-foot length of leader and tie on your favorite hook. Some fishermen will forego the swivel and lead and let the sinker slide right down to the hook (called a "knocker" rig). Both methods work well but I like using a swivel and leader best.       One drawback to using a slip sinker when fishing with larger live baits in deep water is that as you start dropping the bait to the bottom, the bait will try and swim away from what ever it is dragging it down. As the bait continues to swim fro the surface, the sinker will continue to fall until it hits bottom. Now the sinker is on the bottom but your bait is still 15 to 30-feet off the bottom and now where near the strike zone.      This is where the swivel sinker comes into play. The swivel sinker looks the same as the slip sinker except that it has a looped wire cast throught the middle with a swivel attached to each end. This sinker is a good choice for grouper fishing, fishing large live baits or drift fishing. One end of the sinker is attached to the main line then a four-foot length of leader is tied to the other end. It doesn't slide on the line so there is no line wear. Swivel sinkers don't seem to get hung up in the bottom as often and will pulll even the strongest bait right down to the bottom. This is great for novice anglers especially because when the sinkers touches down you know your bait is in the strike zone.       My rule of thumb on how big of a sinker to use is to use the lightest weight that will get your bait down to the bottom and hold it there. When snapper fishing, I normally use a one to three ounce sinker depending on depth and current. For grouper -digging, I will start off using a four-ounce and move up as needed. If you are fishing on the east coast, you might need 10 to 16-ounces to get to the bottom and hold you there. But for our area, having some one to eight-ounce slip and swivel sinkers will suffice for most conditions, from the bay to the Middle Grounds.